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素人. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
素人, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
素人 in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
素人 you have here. The definition of the word
素人 will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
素人, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
Chinese
Pronunciation
Noun
素人
- commoner; layman; amateur
Derived terms
Japanese
Etymology
Compound of 素 (shiro, “plain, undecorated”) + 人 (uto, “person”).
The term 人 (hito, “person”) appears in various older compounds with a root form of 人 (*puto → *buto → *udo, *puto → *futo → *uto). This form is never seen in isolation, and it often undergoes further phonetic changes to combine with preceding vowels. Compare the formation of 仲人 (nakōdo), from naka + udo; 旅人 (tabiudo), from tabi + udo.
Pronunciation
Noun
素人 or 素人 or 素人 • (shirōto or shiroto or shirabito)
- amateur, novice
- Synonym: 初心者 (shoshinsha)
- Antonym: 玄人 (kurōto)
- respectable woman (one who is not a prostitute, geisha, or hostess)
- (archaic, dialectal, Kyoto) unlicensed prostitute
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK Publishing, →ISBN